Taiwan’s Delta Electronics Inc. plans to close its cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) operations from March 1, 2010, due to the growing use of LED for backlights in applications such as LCD TVs, according to an article on Taiwan Economic News.

The company spokesman, H.Z. Chou, said that the supply has outpaced demand of CCFL, and the light source is not eco-friendly for their mercury content. The company has recently diversified into eco-friendly operations like solar energy, LED, wind power and electric car sectors, the report said.  The company began as a power-supply maker and entered into CCFL production in 2003.

Other Taiwan-based CCFL makers including Wellypower Optronics, GIO Optoelectronics Corp., and Sintronic Technology Inc., are also branching out into LED manufacturing and lighting-fixture manufacturing to cope with losses in CCFL backlight market, according to the report.